Howard Berman: “I've heard many arguments against H.R. 4600, but there is one that I've not heard mentioned yet today. I suspect that…”

“I've heard many arguments against H.R. 4600, but there is one that I've not heard mentioned yet today. I suspect that the drafters did not intend the bill to have this effect, but as drafted the HEALTH Act endangers the effectiveness of the most successful anti-fraud tool that the government has at its disposal--the False Claims Act. In 1986, Congress passed and President Reagan signed legislation strengthening the False Claims Act, a law originally signed by President Lincoln in 1863. The amendments passed in 1986 have made it possible for the government to recover close to $9 billion that would otherwise have been lost to health care fraud and abuse. The definitions of 'health care lawsuit' and 'health care liability action' in this bill are very broad. Broad enough to encompass fraud cases brought under the False Claims Act. If a False Claims Act case was determined to fall under the HEALTH Act, it would be devastating to the effectiveness of this anti-fraud tool. Under False Claims the government can recover up to treble damages. In a decision 2 years ago, the Supreme Court determined that these recoveries constitute punitive damages. The Health Act would cap punitive damages at $250,000 or twice the amount of economic damages, whichever is greater.”